
Brian Park, 12-year Google Veteran joins TrenLot as Co-founder…
Photo by Chase Moyer on Unsplash
MEDIA CONTACT: Greg Howard greg@trenlot.io
For Immediate Release: 11/4/19
Brian Park, 12-year Google Veteran joins TrenLot as Co-founder and VP of Engineering
TrenLot, Inc. (Reno, Nevada) is pleased to announce co-founder Brian Park, our VP of Engineering focusing on CrewBuilder, SaaS for construction companies to manage projects, crews, and costs. Brian brings a wealth of experience from his 12 years at Google as a senior contributor to key products, including Google Calendar, Google Wallet, AdSense, and Google X Life Sciences. Brian is focused on executing CrewBuilder development goals to bring innovative and scalable features to help customers be more successful.
“I’m excited to part of a hardworking and driven team that’s solving real problems for people in the construction industry,” Brian said. “This kind of platform development with a sophisticated data model coupled with technologies like machine learning and artificial intelligence to solve real problems puts us ahead of the industry curve.”
As a startup company in Northern Nevada, TrenLot has graduated from the prestigious Shadow Ventures Construction Technology Accelerator in 2019 where over 200 construction tech companies applied and TrenLot was one of 6 selected. TrenLot was also selected a semifinalist for the international Startup Of The Year 2019 to compete as one of the most innovative startups in 2019. In addition, BuiltWorlds Insights awarded TrenLot’s product CrewBuilder the Construction Tech Project Software 50 award.
“We are ecstatic to have Brian on our founding team,” said Greg Howard, CEO & Co-founder. “We’ve been working hard to build an amazing product that solves real problems in the construction industry.”
Interview with Brian
What do you see as the biggest challenges to startup companies?
I think successful startup companies are often focused on solving real life problems. Some startups do create a cool new solution first, then go looking for a problem to solve, but that can be a more difficult road. Even if a startup is able to identify a real life problem, it is possible that customers are not willing to pay for the solution. A startup needs to constantly validate the business case for its product. Startups can iterate and make product decisions faster than bigger companies, but they may not have the resources available at the bigger competitors. Fortunately, the advent of cloud service providers like AWS, GCP and Azure has leveled the playing field significantly. Managing the amount and rate of growth can be difficult for startups. Too much growth can be as dangerous as too little growth. The startup needs to bite off an appropriate amount and successfully tackle it, which will lead to further successes. Recruiting people is always difficult for a startup, but a team that demonstrates a successful track record will find it easier to hire and grow.
What first attracted you to the Reno NV area?
When we were thinking about moving out of the San Francisco Bay Area, we considered many places. Reno came out on top. We wanted a place with an easily accessible airport which is well-connected to domestic and international destinations. Reno’s airport is super convenient. We were frustrated with the insane traffic congestion problems in Silicon Valley. My daily commute is now 20 minutes compared to the previous 2-3 hours. Years ago in grad school, I learned to ski on the ski resorts around Lake Tahoe, and I always appreciated the natural beauty and outdoor activities available in this area. While the cost of housing in Reno is above the national average, it is still far lower than Silicon Valley or the other places that we looked at. Since almost everything is dependent on the internet, we actually evaluated the internet infrastructure of Reno and found it relatively good. It could be better and there are encouraging signs that the infrastructure will get better. And finally, Reno seems to have diversified its economy, its people, and its food and restaurants in recent years. These are important factors for attracting capital and talent in a globally connected world. Reno is a city that is punching above its weight in many ways, and we are glad to be here.
How do you think the Reno startup scene will grow?
Reno has the advantage of being close enough to California without having the quality of life issues of Silicon Valley. There is great potential to persuade entrepreneurs and technical talents to come to Reno. In addition, Reno has great potential to develop and encourage local talent as well. The local University of Nevada, Reno could play a role in supporting a vibrant startup community. I’ve met many interesting and motivated people at various Meetups. The presence and expansion of technology companies like Tesla, Apple, Google, Intuit and Microsoft will increase the local pool of tech workers. When a critical mass of startups becomes successful, those companies will encourage and support new startup companies in the area. I think the future is bright for the startup scene in Reno.
What about the construction tech market attracted you to TrenLot?
Construction projects are inherently complicated and hard to predict and manage. The recent proliferation of affordable computers, tablets and smartphones, and ability to create scalable software services in the cloud, gives us a tremendous opportunity to improve productivity in the construction industry. This means that companies and contractors can handle more projects for less money and time, with higher quality and fewer defects, producing more satisfied customers. At TrenLot, I met a team of co-founders who reminded me how much I enjoyed working in a startup environment. After meeting with them a number of times, I realized that they have the technical skills, the market insights, and the perseverance to create a product that can make a huge impact in the construction industry. I am looking forward to working with them to create the best product in the market.
The Product
About CrewBuilder: CrewBuilder is easy to use with Field Friendly A.I., Thinking Schedules (dynamic project management) that improves usability, insight and value, with Real Time 360° Dashboards, and Capacity Planning. CrewBuilder automates accountability and profitability by strategically implementing and automating technology as an advantage. We uniquely bridge the gap between project management and resource management. https://crewbuilder.io/
About TrenLot, Inc. (Reno, Nevada) the creator of CrewBuilder, offers innovative solutions in the construction industry using Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence that create advantages and reduce cost by automating accountability and profitability. https://www.trenlot.com/